162 stranded Nigerians in Libya arrived in Lagos Airport

They volunteered to return home, says International Organisation for Migration

One hundred and sixty two stranded Nigerians in the North African country, Libya, on Thursday arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

They were flown home by a chartered Boeing 737 aircraft operated by Ghadames Air, which arrived the Lagos Airport  about 2: 50 pm.

Their return was facilitated by the assistance of the International Organisation for Migration  and the Swiss government.

The returnees consists of 132 males, 27 females and three children, who were received on arrival and documented by officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service, the Police, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and other security agencies.

According to Sara Hamo, consultant with International Organisation for Migration, in charge of assisted voluntary return and re- integration in Lagos, the returnees are stranded Nigerian migrants who opted to return home with assistance from the Swiss government.

The IOM, she said after careful documentation and profiling  on arrival in Lagos will facilitate their re- integration with their families in collaboration with the respective state emergency management agencies.

The OIM, she said, will make available some stipend to enable  them resettle. Also, speaking in an interview, Juma Ben Hassan, an operations assistant with OIM in Libya, said the return of the Nigerians was made possible with request from the Nigerian embassy in Tripoli.

He said the Nigerian embassy in Tripoli had in the past requested the assistance of OIM to bring home stranded Nigerian migrants in Libya.

Thursday’s  returnees, he said, will be the second this year after about 180 were returned in March.

He said in the next two months, another batch numbering about 180 will arrive Nigeria.

Among the returnees were some with reduced mobility, as well as a fire accident victim, brought of the aircraft into a waiting ambulance in a stretcher.

Also speaking, the director in charge of relief  and rehabilitation, NEMA, Aliyu Baffale Sambo  said the returnees will be taken to rehabilitation camp, before they are given transport to return home.